Thursday, 21 November 2013

Studio Visits

Today I'm writing a post about studio visits and how important they are to an artist.

I've had three studio visits so far this year - two from friends (both artists) whom I see very rarely because they live outside of London, and another, more recently, from a gallery director. It's a great opportunity to chat about my work and really try to focus and pin down exactly what I'm doing and if it communicates to the viewer.

All three studio visits resulted in a new level of understanding for me of my practice, and generated new ideas to be explored. I would even go so far as to say that studio visits are essential to one's development as an artist. They are an opportunity to think aloud and gain feedback for one's work in an informal manner.

During my most recent studio visit, I showed five new paintings from this year and two from last year. Of course, I am quite convinced that I know which of my works is the strongest. However, my favourite painting is not that of two of my visitors who both picked 'Naples Orange' (displayed below) as the better piece of the five new paintings. How interesting that there is not one clear winner... And another reminder that everyone perceives art differently, has different tastes, and reacts accordingly.